De Leon does bag ban turnaround: Opinion

Kevin de Leon, the Los Angeles state senator who is poised to become leader of the Senate soon, deserves some credit for listening to the people of California, of his district and, well, us. De Leon was one of the lawmakers who blocked passage of a bill last year that would have standardized restrictions on single-use plastic bags statewide.

Good thing. Bans on single-use plastic bags are already working to clean up the streets, parks and waterways of California, according to L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina. She wrote in an op-ed that the bans in cities (such as Pasadena, Long Beach and, just this month, Los Angeles) and counties (including L.A. County) have effectively diverted 10 billion bags a year.

If California is able to pass this ban, then perhaps de Leon will prove that his leadership position in the Senate is justified.